Arsenal

[dom]

Yes it was after the original 6 minutes but there was a certain amount of creative "game management" going on so the ref was right to extend the game a bit. I make Arsenal slight favourites at the moment, certainly.

Yes on reflection that's fair - just the substitutions Everton made after the 90 minutes justify the extra game time. Hopefully that last gasp equaliser and point won't make a difference come season's end.

[dom]

Tense night but worth it.

Champions League Finalists!

Gyokeres outstanding tonight, real centre forward performance.

Myles Skelly who had been abandoned all season comes in and was superb in replacing a tired and overworked Zubemendi. Should he have played there more often?

Ben White brilliant too.

And Declan Rice! What can you say. Such an engine, game after game, never tires! So intelligent with it!

So 4 games to go! 4 finals! Time to make history

[dom]

100 + minutes of tension! So dominant for the first 20, so close but no opening goal. Then White goes off injured and Arteta makes mistake by bringing on Zubemendi and putting Rice at full back.

Impetus handed to West Ham and they did get a couple of chances, particularly when Raya had to make a smart save from Castellanos.

Poor Zubemendi had to be substituted back off to allow Mosquero on to play at full back and to allow Rice to play in his best position - central midfield.

The game meandered on without too many chances until Raya made a stunning save from Fernandes. Not quite sure how he didn't put it away but Raya stood strong and solid and that certainly had a part to play and enabled him to make the save.

A couple of minutes later and with 10 minutes to go some brilliant work from substitute Odegaard set up Trossard. Hopefully Odegaard is back to his best now - he played well.

Real drama at the end when Wilson's forceful equaliser was disallowed due to a foul on the keeper after a VAR review. I thought it was the right call but there are plenty that don't.

The tension!  But the league is getting closer.

Feel a bit sorry for West Ham, as this result looks likely to relegate them and keep Spurs up.

[dom]

So just one win away from a first league title in 22 years. And if City fail to beat Bournemouth this evening, even that won't be necessary.

It's not been pretty, case in point the game last night where Arsenal looked turgid at times.  Burnley offered almost nothing but when the advantage is so slender,who knows what might have happened.

Hopefully Arsenal do end up winning the league. Flair has not been the first word you'd associate with Arsenal's performances this season and I can live with that if they do finish first, and, who knows, even clinch their first ever Champions League title the week after.

Whether they do or not they really need to play with a little more flair and enjoyment next season.

[dom]

Arteta is the first former Premier League Player (yes and I know the league didn't start in 1992 but still worth mentioning) to win the league as a Premier League Manager.

Odd way to win the league, watching a highly impressive Bournemouth side prevent City from getting the 3 points they needed to keep the title going to the last day. 

I was celebrating when on 90 minutes Brookes broke through the City defence and had the goal and  Donnarumma at his mercy but contrived to hit the post.  And then Haaland had to make me suffer by scoring when there was still a couple of minutes to go.

So it was an oddly flat feeling to win the league by watching another team do it on your behalf

After a while though it begins to sink in.  The 22 years of waiting, of playing beautiful football but accused of being soft.  Watching the Russian Oligarch and then Saudi Oil money come in and taking over the league. This conicided with Arsenal having a smaller budget to pay for the move to Ashburton Grove and made the fight even more unbalanced.

So like most of the league Arsenal were also runs right from the start of the season.  From becoming a serial winner Wenger and so also his team became a bit of a laughing stock. Top 4 and maybe a cup was all that could be achieved

Eventually Arsene's time was done and you could argue that Emery wasn't given enough time but I thought it just wasn't the right fit.

Arteta was different.  He had a real sense of purpose right from day 1.  He had learnt well from the likes of Wenger and Guardiola.  He'd been a player at Arsenal and understood the culture; understood it enough to be able to change it.

Purse strings were loosened too, allowing Mikel to persue the top level of talent that had so often gone to the likes of City and Chelsea and to the big guns in Europe.  Also  a bad run of form in the early days didn't result in his sacking, again something that we can be grateful to the Kronkes for.  Sticking with the man they believed in.  It was the right call, results began to improve and a second place finish showed Arteta was on the right track

2 further second place finishes showed that something was missing still.  The edge to finally get over the line.  What was the edge? I don't know exacty but its probably to do with a conviction that strength wins over flair, that attacks win matches but that defences win leagues.  Also finding those small gains on and off the pitch make tiny almost imperceptible differences that add up to a big difference.  Set plays is the big one obviously 19 goals from corners and a few more from free kicks is huge. Also to go a season without a red card or a penalty conceded is very impressive.

So it hasn't been the most exhillarating of title wins but that wasn't necessary after a 22 year wait.

I believe Arteta and his team (both the players and back room staff) are going to be around for a while.  It's not easy to win back to backs but Arsenal can do it. I'm probably being greedy here but I'm hoping for a bit more flair next time round.

Can they win the Champions League on Saturday week?  It won't be easy but why not!   

[dom]

Disappointing end to a great season. A win last night would have turned it  into an outstanding one but not to be.

Arsenal had to defend last night and they did! For their lives.

PSG had 75% of the ball but only managed 4 shots on target. Their much vaunted attack could only beat Raya via a penalty. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has been terrorising full backs all season was kept largely in check by Cristhian Mosquera, principally a centre back and only 3rd choice right back. Apart from the penalty of course.


The team were magnificent and lost essentially via the turn of a card.

I think the ref was right with both penalty calls but he was really harsh with Arsenal whenever they won the ball off PSG. The amount of very weak free kicks given to the Parisians was very disrupting and spoiled any chance of exploiting a turnover in possession.

Hopefully it won't be another 20 year wait for the next Champions League final